This Charming Life
by hayj
Summary: This is set in the same world as my story "Only Fools are Enslaved by Time and Space" but has heavy references to jhalya's story "Sanctuary" which is also set in the world of "OFaEbTaS." For "This Charming Life" to make complete sense I would suggest reading the others but I suppose it's not totally necessary.


I really didn't have time for this plot bunny this week. Please forgive any mistakes as it was written in just a few hours. I don't own, no profit, blah, blah blah. Love Riddick/Fry and their fat little babies as always.

This Charming Life

"Carolyn!" Riddick shouted as he opened the gate leading to their home. Looking around he wondered at the sheer quietness. Granted it was the middle of the afternoon but with four children and a blonde volcano of a wife, his home was NEVER quiet. He strung his bundle of small game up on a tree branch to wait patiently for the boys to come clean it.

He, on the other hand, was not so patiently ready to see his wife after having been gone for a few days. Even now he still tested the set boundaries of their sanctuary always seeing just how far he could push the creatures that had brought them here all those years ago.

He had just finished rinsing his hands when a slim whirlwind wrapped itself around him followed by the sound of Izzy's voice letting loose with a string of words in her native language.

Riddick wrapped an arm around his daughter's shoulders and placed a kiss on her head. "How's my Zoey Bug?" He asked lifting her chin up to look at him. His little girl was quickly turning into a young woman and a beautiful one at that.

"Missed you, Daddy!" she said bussing his cheek with a smile. "Mama said I could start going out with you soon!"

"She did?" Riddick questioned.

Carolyn was extremely protective of her only daughter, so the fact that she had at last mentioned she was considering letting Zoey do the one thing that she most wanted to do was big news indeed.

"Mmmhmm," Zoey beamed just as a ringing started in the back of Riddick's brain.

"Izzy," he said as he approached his sprawling house and the woman who was not his wife leaning against the doorframe.

"Riddick," she replied in her softly accented voice a smile on her face as she watched the man shoot a hand out and ruffle Marcus' hair where he stood next to her.

"Where's Carrie?" he asked.

"Not here. She came over early this morning and asked me to keep an eye on these hooligans till you got home."

"Say where she was going?"

Isabelle shook her head.

"Zoey, Marcus go get that game cleaned and put away."

"Sure, Dad," Marcus said easily wrapping an arm around his little sisters neck, the two of them waiting until they thought they were far enough out of their Father's hearing before speaking quietly to each other.

No one really knew just how well Riddick's hearing was but over the years his children had learned to wait making sure they were a distance away before speaking of anything they didn't want him to know about or were afraid they might get in trouble for. While their Father had never been one to run to their Mother when he knew they had done something they should be punished for, there had been more than one occasion in their young lives when they would have much rather dealt with the fiery inferno that was their Mother instead of enduring their Fathers more creative types of punishment.

Waiting for them to busy themselves with their task Riddick turned back to Isabelle who had been patiently waiting.

"What'd I miss?"

"The crazy chemist went missing without a trace two nights ago. Carolyn seemed pretty upset about it."

The ringing in Riddick's brain turned into a clanging symphony as he turned to look at his children standing at the table in the yard.

And make no mistake they were his children.

Dark complexions with even darker eyes, they both shared that hunger for freedom that had plagued him during the early part of his life, knowing that this life would become stifling for them. He recognized himself in their eyes and knew in the end it would be these two that would crush their Mother. He only hoped he was still alive to pick up the pieces of her world when it shattered once again.

Riddick turned back to his wife's best friend. "I'm going to change and then go find her. Do you mind keeping an eye on them for a while longer? Maybe even till morning?"

Isabelle smiled. "As soon as Bob brings the rest of the kids home from the river we'll head on over to my house. They can spend the night. You bring our girl home."

Riddick nodded and squeezed her shoulder on his way into the house. Changing clothes he began to rummage through his room to determine what Carolyn had taken with her. A backpack with a change of clothes, a bedroll and the rifle that she preferred. She definitely hadn't planned on coming home tonight. While the kids had spent the night at various people's homes over the years Carolyn had never willing up and left her children to spend the night somewhere without them.

Walking through the house he stopped to tell Isabelle he was going before stepping back into the doorway. Watching his children work in tandem as they cleaned the game he had brought home everything clicked the second Marcus looked up him, both his and Zoeys hands bloodied from their work. Marcus thought he saw something in his father's eyes just as he pulled his goggles down and strode towards them. "Mind your Aunt. Your Mother and I will be home tomorrow before lunch."

"Sure, Dad," Marcus responded turning to watch his father walk through the gate of their home not taking the well-worn path but heading into the thick jungle on the other side. Looking down at Zoey she looked up at him with a pair of matching eyes and without a word between them went back to work, their movements instantly in synch.

* * *

Riddick headed to a spot known only to the original members of this settlement. He knew that some of the others still came here on occasion but he and Carolyn had only been here once. It was when she had been pregnant with Jack and he had used her as bait to kill a man who had threatened the safety of everyone in their group. He knew that this was where she would run, where she would come to seek solace in the strangely warped way that only his wife could understand.

It was twilight when he arrived and he could just make out the light of a small fire in the cave opening. Upon further inspection Carolyn wasn't near the caves. He finally found her floating on her back in the middle of the hot spring staring up at the heavens. Making sure her bedroll was laid out he dropped his clothes into the same pile as hers and walked unabashed to the edge of the spring. Startled she popped up like a cork covering her bare breasts with her arms.

"Riddick" she sighed as her eyes roamed over his body watching as he lowered himself into the pool making his way to her, his body going stiff at just the feel of her eyes on him.

"How did you find me?" she asked as he drew her up tight against him burying his face in her neck to take in her scent.

"Missed you," he replied placing kisses from underneath her ear to her collarbone. As she moaned tilting her head allowing him better access she felt his erection jump against her stomach causing her to wrap her legs around his waist as he grasped her hips lifting her up before impaling her on him with a gasp.

Moving his hands to her ass, Riddick slid her up and down his engorged length as Carolyn kept one hand wrapped around his neck the other hand between their bodies stroking herself in time to his thrusts.

Tilting her head back Carolyn cried out her release to the night sky before Riddick guided her mouth back to his again battering her with a few last punishing thrusts, locking her hips against his as he poured himself into her with a groan.

Making his way to dry land, Riddick climbed out of the pool with Carolyn in tow. Setting her down before the fire he threw some more wood on it before pulling her to stand in front of him letting the heat of the fire dry them off. Finally satisfied he tugged her inside the cave and laying down on the bedroll held her close as she settled in against him.

"Wanna tell me what's wrong?"

"I love you," she whispered into his neck. "I'm so glad your home. I didn't know what to do. For the first time since they were born I didn't know what to do."

Riddick soothed his wife, as she softly cried not knowing what to say so make this any easier for her.

"Tell me what happened." He asked of her again when it seemed the crying had slowed leaving her spent in his arms.

"It was two nights ago. I heard someone talking outside and got up thinking it was some of the boys. Following the voices I discovered that it was actually Zoey and that crazy woman." Riddick nodded that he knew whom she was talking about.

"I followed them down to the bend in the river.." she paused her voice not allowing her to go on.

"Carolyn?"

"Riddick, she's just a baby. She's my baby."

"Tell me the rest," Riddick said shushing his wife.

"She ran right past me. She was covered in blood. A few minutes later she came back with Marcus. He pushed the body into the river and then pulled Zoey in washing the blood off of her before taking her back to the house."

Riddick was not about to tell his distraught wife that this was not the first time he had suspected Marcus of killing someone. His children were more like him than he imagined. He couldn't be sorry for it though. His mind already planning the things he could teach them even while comforting his wife.

"Carolyn, we talked about this when Jack was born. The world that we live in. What it could mean to the kids."

"I know," she sniffed finally calming down now that she had been able to share this burden with her husband. Riddick had been her rock over the years, always by her side no matter what this world threw at them. She knew he couldn't fix this, and if she knew him at all knew that he would embrace it, but she also knew that he would do his best to help her through it. "But she's just a baby."

Riddick chuckled as he drew her closer covering them with the bedroll, as the night air grew cooler on their bare skin. "Carolyn, do you realize how old our children are now? Zoey is only a baby because she's the youngest. Jack's going to be twenty on his next birthday."

"But why Zoey? Why notJack or Richie? And Marcus. I so worry about him, Riddick. I see that same look in his eyes," she said leaning up on an elbow to trace a finger around his thinking back to the first time she had met him. Taking her hand he kissed her fingers before rolling her onto her back. Looking down at her he ran his finger around the crinkles that were now more prominent around her own eyes.

"Jack and Richie are all you, Carolyn. Always have been. Zoey is turning into a beautiful woman, just like you, but she's a good balance of the two us. Marcus though, Marcus is mine. Through and through."

He watched Carolyn nod, an anguished look upon her face as a tear slid out of the corner of her eye. "But what do I do?" she whispered.

"You be their Mother," he whispered back. "I know how much you love my children, Carolyn, and I know from experience that nothing they do will ever change that."

"But Riddick…"

"It'll be ok, Carolyn, I promise. Just follow my lead, ok?"

In the face of his calmness Carolyn realized that the only thing that had changed was her perception of who and what her children were, but what hadn't changed was the fact that they were hers and she loved them. Looking up into her husbands eyes Carolyn gave a watery smile and nodded putting her trust in him to do what was right for their family. Lord knows she didn't always agree with him having taken a broom handle to him more times than she even she could remember but she didn't doubt his love for his children. "Ok," she replied settling down with him for the evening.

"Just ok?" he asked raising his head to peer over her shoulder. "No broomstick, no eruption?"

Her turn to chuckle, Carolyn rolled over to face him. "You should probably find someway to remember the date because for once I'm giving you carte blanche."

Riddick arched his eyebrows with a smirk. "I think that calls for a celebration," he murmured lowering himself down on her.

"Charming, Riddick, very charming"

The End.


End file.
